South African Krugerrand

South African Krugerrand

The South African Krugerrand was first introduced in 1967 to allow private ownership of gold, and to market it to the world. Minted by the Rand Refinery, the South African Krugerrand is a symbol of enduring value, more than 50 million ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold. The face depicts four-time president of the South African Republic and Boer leader Paul Kruger with a springbok antelope, one of South Africa’s symbolic animals, on the reverse which was the same image which was previously used on South Africa’s 5 shilling coin. The word ‘Krugerrand’ itself is a registered trademark of Rand Refinery Limited.

The Krugerrand is 91.67% pure gold, with a relatively high proportion of copper in the alloy. This results in more durability and more notably, a red colour similar to rose gold. The gold content of the Krugerrand is still a full troy ounce, the same as America’s Eagle and our own Britannia. The addition of the copper makes the Krugerrand slightly heavier and larger than the more pure coins.

During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, many Western countries made it illegal to import Krugerrands as part of the overall boycott against the country’s Apartheid policies. It is questionable as to whether this had much effect as the Krugerrand accounted for as much as 90% of the global trade in bullion coins in 1980. By 1994 the Apartheid policies had been officially abandoned in South Africa, and the boycott was generally lifted. So far, more than 50 million ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold. This makes the Krugerrand gold bullion coin one of the most popular world coins in the world and it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.

What are the VAT and CGT implications of buying Krugerrands?

As with all our gold bullion investment coins, the purchase does not incur a VAT duty, however, as the Krugerrand is not a UK legal tender currency, investing in the coins will incur Capital Gains Tax for UK residents investors. Check with your tax advisor to see how this might affect you specifically. If you are interested in coins which are CGT exempt, our ranges of UK bullion coins including the Sovereign and Britannia are all CGT exempt.

About the range

During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, many Western countries made it illegal to import Krugerrands as part of the overall boycott against the country’s Apartheid policies. It is questionable as to whether this had much effect as the Krugerrand accounted for as much as 90% of the global trade in bullion coins in 1980. By 1994 the Apartheid policies had been officially abandoned in South Africa, and the boycott was generally lifted. So far, more than 50 million ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold. This makes the Krugerrand gold bullion coin one of the most popular world coins in the world and it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.

What are the VAT and CGT implications of buying Krugerrands?

As with all our gold bullion investment coins, the purchase does not incur a VAT duty, however, as the Krugerrand is not a UK legal tender currency, investing in the coins will incur Capital Gains Tax for UK residents investors. Check with your tax advisor to see how this might affect you specifically. If you are interested in coins which are CGT exempt, our ranges of UK bullion coins including the Sovereign and Britannia are all CGT exempt.

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